Joe Biden ‘Shares His Views’ With Anti-Deportation Protesters Who Heckled His Detroit Speech

Vice President Joe Biden expressed his agreement with anti-deportation statements voiced out by protesters during his speech in Detroit, reassuring them that he personally shares his views with them. His agreement clashes with the continued increase in deportations that has been observed under the Obama administration during the past few years.

The U.S. vice president was speaking Thursday to a Democrat crowd in Detroit when a group of hecklers began shouting anti-deportation sentiments around 20 minutes into his speech, garnering applause and approval from the general crowd. The group was heard chanting: “Stop deporting our families”, according to the US News.

Biden immediately expressed his support for the group of protesters, assuring them that he respects and shares their views. Joe Biden even encouraged the convention to clap for them: “We should clap for those young people, because if you were a member of a family… we should clap for them.”

“Can you imagine? Can you imagine the pain, the anxiety, of coming home every day wondering whether or not your mother or father will still be there? Can you imagine? Can you imagine what it must feel like?”

The protesters were peacefully escorted out of the convention hall. According to The Guardian, some of the protesters were members of United We Dream, a group that supports pro-immigration rights and policies. United We Dream deputy director Felipe-Souza Rodriguez released a statement shortly after the protest, demanding the Obama administration to review its deportation policies:

“Vice-president Biden, you and the president have told us you share the same dreams we do of living, working, and being a part of this great country. Yet why do you continue to deport our parents?”

Although allegations that President Barack Obama has deported more people in history than any other U.S. president continue to circulate the internet, Politifact has labeled the statement as “half true,” indicating that although the Obama administration has overseen a significant increase in deportations, George W. Bush remains as having the biggest deportation numbers in U.S. history.

Joe Biden remains to be a serious 2016 contender, although former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to be the more popular Democrat bet. However, recent controversies surrounding Clinton‘s previous and current work, including her hefty, $2,700 a minute speaking fees and her previous legal assignments as a lawyer, has began to haunt her, two years before a new presidential term begins.